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Hayley Ladd hopes Goodison 'history' turbocharges Everton rise

Everton midfielder Hayley Ladd has told ESPN that she hopes her team can "ride on the history" of Goodison Park to ensure they enjoy a successful season in the Women's Super League (WSL).

Everton's men's team played at the iconic ground for more than 130 years before they moved the state-of-the-art Hill Dickinson Stadium over the summer. However, this weekend the marks the start of a new era as Everton Women officially become the new custodians of Goodison, hosting Tottenham Hotspur in the WSL on Sunday.

The venue is now the largest dedicated women's stadium in England and Ladd believes the team's new surroundings could give them a boost as they look to improve on last season's eighth-place finish.

"As soon as I came to the city and to the club, everyone was mentioning Goodison," Ladd told ESPN. "Everyone was telling me: 'You've got to go and watch a game there.'

"It's such a unique stadium so to be actually playing there this season and to be kind of riding on all that history means a great deal."

Everton started the WSL season in style, beating Liverpool 4-1 last weekend, with summer signing Ornella Vignola scoring a superb hat trick at Anfield.

The 20-year-old forward is one of a number of new signings Everton made this summer, and midfielder Aurora Galli has admitted it might take time for Brian Sorensen's side to really gel.

"During the summer the club took in a lot of new players and new faces," Galli said. "We still need time to know each other.

"We need to have connection with the new players and they need to know how Brian wants to play. We are trying to help everyone, but I think that there is a lot of space to grow and we are looking for that.

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"I always have a big smile on my face and make jokes with everyone, so I try to welcome everyone.

"I was one of them five years ago and my teammates were very good in that. So I'm trying to do my best to welcome everyone, even if we can't speak the same language."